Middle rounds ‘first’ place to look
FIRST base traditionally is one of the deepest positions in fantasy baseball. It might be a little top-heavy with elite bats such as Freddie Freeman, Matt Olson and Pete Alonso standing head-and-shoulders above the rest, but the further you dive in the rankings, the more options you find.
The big bat to pay attention to is Detroit’s Spencer Torkelson. The 24-year-old endured a tough rookie campaign in 2022 and struggled out of the gate last season, but things clicked for him in the second half. He might have hit just .238, but in the 72 games after the All-Star break, Torkelson smacked 19 home runs with 49 RBIs to give him 31 homers and 94 RBIs on the season. He also improved his OPS from .711 in the first half to .816 in the second.
Torkelson has spent significant time this spring working on his plate discipline, so we should see an increase in walks and a reduction in strikeouts. He still swings for the fences, but we’ve also seen him start to spray the ball to all fields — which hopefully will raise his BABIP and, subsequently, his batting average.
Even if he hits just .250, that and the 30-plus homers are huge. And the best part is that his average draft position is sitting at 107.78, which means you can wait until the ninth or 10th round to draft him in a 12-team league.
If you find yourself still looking for that first baseman or corner infielder late, then head to Kansas City and hunt down the creature affectionately known as Pasquatch. We have yet to see a full-season from Vinnie Pasquantino, but the raw power is there ,and so is the plate discipline.
Don’t worry about the slow spring. Focus on the .280 isolated power mark through the minors and the .190 ISO he posted last season. You can also focus on the spectacularly low strikeout rate.
At 26-years-old, he is just entering his physical prime, so that plus the plate discipline should help provide 20-plus home runs and a solid .275 batting average. Not bad for a guy available to you in the 14th round.
Howard Bender is the head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on X @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 6-8 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy baseball news and advice.